History Notes Chapter 1 – The French Revolution

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The French Revolution

In 1789, in the wake of early morning, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. Rumours spread that the
King would open fire upon the citizens. People started gathering, and they started breaking down a
number of government buildings in search of arms. The commander of the Bastille was killed in the armed
fight, and the prisoners were released. People hated the Bastille as it stood for the despotic power of the
king. People protested against the high price of bread. A new chain of events began, which led to the
execution of the King in France.

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

Louis XVI, in 1774, ascended the throne of France. Financial France was drained because of the war.
France, under Louis XVI, helped the thirteen American colonies to gain their independence from Britain.
Taxes were increased to meet regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an army, the court, and
running government offices or universities. The country of France was divided into three estates in the
eighteenth century. The feudal system was part of the society’s estates dating back to the middle ages.
The clergy and the nobility, members were exempted from paying taxes and enjoyed feudal privileges.

The Struggle to Survive

The increase in population led to a rapid increase in the requirement for food grains. Production of grains
could not keep pace with the demand, due to which the price of bread rose rapidly. Due to the low wages
paid to the labourers, the gap between the poor and the rich widened. Things became worse whenever
drought or hail reduced the harvest.

A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges

Peasants used to participate in revolts against taxes and food scarcity. The group of the third estate had
become prosperous and had access to education and new ideas. The third estate included professions
such as lawyers or administrative officials. A person’s social position was dependent on their merit.

All these groups were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
Rather, a person’s social position must depend on his merit. A new form of government was proposed by
Rousseau based on a social contract between people and their representatives.

The Outbreak of the Revolution

In France, the monarch didn’t have the power to impose taxes. They had to call a meeting of the Estates-
General, a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives, to pass proposals for new
taxes. Louis XVI, on 5 May 1789, called an assembly to pass proposals for new taxes According to the
principle, each estate had one vote. But, representatives from the third estate demanded each member
would have one vote. The demand was rejected, so members of the third estate walked out to protest.
Due to the severe winter, bread prices rose, and people had to spend hours in long queues. Rumours
spread that the lords of the manor hired bands of brigands to destroy the ripe crops. In fear, peasants
started looting hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues. Nobles fled
from their homes. The Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes
on 4 August 1789.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

In 1791, The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution, and its main object was to limit the
powers of the monarch. These powers were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the
legislature, executive and judiciary. France became a constitutional monarchy.

Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly, but unfortunately, not every citizen
had the right to vote. Men above 25 years of age who paid taxes were entitled to vote. The Constitution
began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

In April 1792, the National Assembly voted for a war against Prussia and Austria. Large sections of the
population demanded that the revolution had to be carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave
political rights only to the richer sections of society. On August 10 1792, Jacobins stormed the Palace of
the Tuileries and held the king hostage for several hours. The monarchy was abolished on 21 September
1792, and France was declared a republic. Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of
treason.

The Reign of Terror

The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. People whom Robespierre saw as
enemies of the republic were arrested, imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If they were
declared guilty by the court, then they were guillotined. Meat and bread were rationed. Expensive white
flour was forbidden to use. Equality was practised through forms of speech and address. In July 1794, he
was convicted by a court, arrested and the next day sent to the guillotine.

A Directory Rules France

The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power. According to the
new constitution, non-propertied sections of society were denied voting. The government appointed a
Directory consisting of executives made up of five members. Political instability paved the way for a
military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Did Women have a Revolution?

Women were active participants from the beginning, which brought important changes in the country of
France. Women from the third estate had to work for a living, and they didn’t have access to education or
job training. Daughters of nobles of the third estate were allowed to study at a convent. Working women
also had to care for their families. Women also started their political clubs and newspapers.

The Abolition of Slavery

Jacobin’s regime’s most revolutionary social reform was the abolition of slavery in the French colonies. In
the seventeenth century, the slavery trade began. Slaves were brought from local chieftains, branded and
shackled and packed tightly into ships for the voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Throughout the
eighteenth century, there was little criticism of slavery in France. In 1794, the Convention legislated to free
all slaves in the French overseas possessions. Napoleon introduced slavery after ten years. In 1848,
slavery was abolished in French colonies.

The Revolution and Everyday Life

France during 1789 saw changes in the lives of men, women and children. The abolition of censorship
happened in the summer of 1789. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of
speech and expression to be a natural right.

Conclusion
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804 and introduced many laws, such as the
protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal
system. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815.